Archive by Author
Phone Me Maybe: Language Change Right Against Our Ears Posted by janet on Oct 28, 2015 in Archived Posts
Here’s a language question for you to ponder, the next time you’re waiting for enough bars to make a call: Have you ever, at any time, referred to your cell phone as a “telephone”? I don’t think I ever have. In fact, it would actually sound weird to me if someone were to do so……
Those Three Little Words Posted by janet on Oct 5, 2015 in Archived Posts
In my job, I proofread a lot of documents. Long ones, short ones, formal, casual, you name it… and to add a twist, a fair number of them are written by non-native English speakers. Even when I haven’t been told the author’s identity, I’ve gotten quite adept at spotting those pieces, and it’s given me…
I Bet You a Kangaroo… Posted by janet on Sep 30, 2015 in Archived Posts
A while ago at work, someone described a particularly obscure piece of trivia as “That’s about as useful as knowing the Norwegian word for ‘kangaroo’!” (I love working with language people.) We all laughed, but after I thought for a minute, I said, “I bet I can guess the Norwegian word for ‘kangaroo’… maybe not…
An American in Iceland: the Benefits of Learning the Language Before a Vacation Posted by janet on Sep 3, 2014 in Archived Posts
Starting in late fall of last year, I found myself planning for a summer trip to Iceland, a place I’d wanted to visit for a very long time. Shortly after the tickets were booked and the dates circled on the calendar, it suddenly hit me that this little island in the middle of the Atlantic…